Each practice, for nearly 2.5 hours, Tristan Robinson would kick field goals on his own.

During those times, he estimated that he would kick the football nearly 200 times between the uprights.

That persistence paid off for the Brownstown Central senior this past fall, as he nailed 100 percent of his 33 PAT attempts on the gridiron.

Robinson also kicked off 72 times for 2,730 yards (37.9 average) in 2016.

Gaining some attention from colleges, Robinson said that a handful of colleges contacted him looking for a kicker.

After narrowing it down, Robinson narrowed the list down to one: Anderson University.

This fall Robinson will fulfill a childhood dream of playing in college, joining the Ravens’ program.

Robinson said that he visited Anderson four or five times, which included overnights, meeting with coaches and attending a game against Bluffton University.

What stood out for Robinson was the close-knit community and smaller student body.

“I liked the atmosphere,” Robinson said. “Some of the other colleges I visited, there were multiple groups of guys. They all came together everyday at Anderson and lifted every day. They’re all really nice guys.”

AU is an NCAA Division III school that plays in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

“It’s small, kind of like Brownstown,” Robinson said. “Whenever I stayed the night, we would walk across campus and run into someone and the guy next to me could tell me who it was. Everyone knows each other. It’s a little different than some of the bigger colleges where nobody knows anyone. Everyone was pretty tight.”

The Ravens, a young team coached by John Sala, went 1-9 last season.

Of all his kicking skills, Robinson thinks his precision will carry over best.

“I think that my accuracy with the PAT and placing the ball where I want on kickoff will translate well,” Robinson said. “There are a lot of kids who can’t place it where the coach tells them, so that will really help me out.”

Robinson said that he looks forward to working with the staff at Anderson.

“They have a special teams coach there,” Robinson said. “They will send me workouts to do for over the summer. One thing that I’ve always wanted is a special teams coach. Out here, I never really had one and always had to kind of help myself.

“I’m looking forward to playing bigger and better teams. There will be a few other kickers there already, so I will have the chance to kick against someone else.”

Robinson said he plans on studying history, and would like to teach in a middle school one day.